A Promise
by The Sneaky Fox
Summary: Tali and Shepard share an intimate moment before entering the Omega-4 Relay to defeat the Collectors. One shot, short and sweet.


A/N: Woohoo! A one-shot! This popped into my head and the scene and dialogue were so vivid that I couldn't focus on writing _The Storm_ so I had to put this on paper so it stops flying around my brain.

I'm rating it M because of the topic spoken about but there isn't anything too racy in here.

I won't describe what Tali looks like in great detail because even though BioWare released an "official" picture of her face many people seem to disagree with it (me being one of them) and have come up with their own variation, so I'm letting you picture her however you think she looks.

I'm done talking, so happy reading!

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**A Promise**

Tali lay atop Shepard's chest, her cheek resting on his shoulder, feeling happier than she ever had before.

Shepard himself was lying there, eyes closed, with a small contented smile on his face as he ran his fingers along her back, sending pleasant shivers up her spine.

The feeling of being touched without a restrictive suit getting in the way was nothing short of euphoric. The sensations and desires she'd felt in the past hour had surprised her in their intensity. They had even scared her at first, the suddenness of them shocking, but Shepard had been extremely patient and gentle, though she had seen the effort in his eyes as he held himself back, trying to not rush her.

It had been incredible. The closeness and quickened breath as their hands grasped for the other's body as they tried to learn every dip and turn on one another's skin. She had run her hands over Shepard, seeing goosebumps raise on his skin and the heat in his eyes as he watched her, feeling powerful and special for being able to evoke such a response from him. He had told her she was beautiful with his touch and his movements, the sounds of passion coming from both of them becoming more frantic as the pleasure escalated.

She smiled and pressed closer against him. She had never imagined the things she shared with him could ever be a possibility, but Mordin, although embarrassing her to no end with the things he had spoken to her about, had made this intimacy possible, and she was extremely grateful.

She felt pleasantly boneless, the climax of their bonding making every muscle in her body feel like liquid. She was also sore in places she didn't know could _get_ sore, but that didn't really bother her, the passion they had shared being more than a fair trade-off for a bit of muscle ache.

"Shepard... That was amazing." she said, deciding to speak up. They hadn't said a word to one another after, simply lying their and feeling content as they silently enjoy each other's closeness.

He opened his eyes, the blue in them brilliant as the azure light of the aquarium hit them. "I know." he said, smile growing wider, stretching into a grin. "And you can call me John if you want. I mean, you already slept with me. I would've thought you'd learn a guy's first name before you jumped into bed with him."

She felt the blood warm her cheeks as she blushed deeply. "I knew your first name, you bosh'tet. But everyone on the ship just calls you Shepard all the time, so I'm used to it."

"But I'm not having sex with anyone else on the ship, am I?"

She smacked his chest as he laughed at her expression.

"You better not be, _John_."

He took the hand that had hit him and kisses its palm, smiling up at her. "Don't worry, I only have eyes for you."

"Good." she lay her head back down on his chest, smiling. She moved and planted a kiss on his chest, her lips moving over a scar. "Keelah, you've got so many."

"So many what?"

"Scars."

She felt him shrug. "Military careers tend to leave you with a lot of them."

"Don't they bother you?"

"Not really. I stopped getting sentimental about my appearance pretty quick after I joined the Alliance. Even less after I died. I'm half robot now, but I try not to care about it. I'd probably go crazy otherwise."

She had flinched when he mentioned his death, and put up a hand to touch his cheek, tracing a faintly glowing scar. "I'm sorry."

He arched a brow, looking confused. "About what?"

"You dying. It must have awful, alone in space."

"It was." he said, then quickly continued as he saw the expression on her face. "But I'm back now, thanks to Cerberus. They may have stuck a bunch of tech in me and plastered logos all over my home and my clothes, but I'm alive because of them. I got a second chance, and I was able to come back to you and finally not be an idiot and told you how I felt."

She smiled at him. "Oh, you're still an idiot. You're just _my_ idiot now."

"A title I only dreamed of having." he said, grinning.

She sobered suddenly, remembering what they were about to do, what mission they were about to launch. "Only a couple of hours left. Shep - John, I don't know if I can stand going back into my suit, to not be able to kiss or touch you again. I'm so happy..."

He smiled sadly at her, a calloused hand reaching up to brush at her cheek. "I know how you feel. Well, maybe not completely, but I want to stay here with you."

"You can't die, you understand me? You did once already and I could hardly bear that. Now, with knowing how you feel, with being able to be so close with you-" her voice broke and she buried her face into his shoulder, tears falling onto his skin.

He lifted her head up with a gentle finger, looking into her shining eyes. "I won't die, Tali. We've prepared the ship and the crew in every way possible, made all the upgrades-"

"Something could go wrong! We don't know what'll happen when we go through the relay!"

"They said Ilos was a suicide run and we didn't lose a man; this should be a cake walk." He saw that she was about to speak, to question his confidence in the mission, but he interrupted her. "Tali, I promise that I'll do my damnedest to survive, to get back to you. I don't ever want to leave you."

She kissed him, hard. Shepard didn't make empty promises, and she almost believed that he would defy death simply to get back to her. For now, though, she'd soak up every once of happiness and passion she could get before they went and made history.

He returned the kiss, rolling and shifting so that she lie on her back as they got closer, hands touching and lips crushed against one another as they tried to fit a lifetime of joy into a couple of hours, both fearing that they wouldn't see each other again, despite Shepard's promise.

The future was full of uncertainties, but Shepard knew of one constant as he and Tali joined, hearing her cry out.

He'd always love her, and that was something not even death could take away from him.


End file.
